Match Report vs Tour
Game 1 - Alvechurch and Hopwood 6th Septmeber 2025 @ A&H
(Skipper Sanay, Report Jack)
Our first tour game against Alvechurch & Hopwood (AV&H)
was on the outskirts (not really in) Birmingham. Having battled
the erratic Brum driving, the Cazh arrived at the bowl-like
ground raring to go.
Tour virgin Sanay was elected captain by way of spoof.
I cannot recall who won the toss, but the Casuals batted
first. The opening partnership of Liam F and Pat had been
decided the previous evening by spoof, and the pair set off
to bat on a soggy, slow pitch.
The opposition had the gall to open with a pair of competent
youngsters who, using the conditions and some accurate bowling,
hemmed the Casuals in. Liam F played some lovely shots for
his two boundaries (and 8 runs) before bringing in Steve-o.
Steve-o scored one from three balls before being dismissed.
Cheese followed, starting strongly with some well-struck boundaries
before being caught after mistiming one on the slowest pitch
in the West Midlands.
Pat, who had been batting nicely, was trapped LBW in the
10th over with the score at 33, leaving Jack and Rob Owens
at the crease. Rob accelerated the sluggish run rate as Jack
held up the other end, while the bowling varied from slow,
to painfully slow, with the odd seamer adding some moderate
pace. The slow bowling got the better of Rob, bringing in
Rhys, who again accelerated the rate before being caught.
Sanay in next. Bowled. Duck chip.
Jim followed. Four, one, out. Not looking good: 101/8 from
29.3 overs.
Dan arrived, and thankfully a partnership of 69 (cheeky)
was built on the theme of Dan giving it a whack and Jack grinding
out the most tedious innings of the season. Jack fell in the
final over, Goff came in, and the innings closed at 173/9.
At least something to defend.
Batting
Pat – 5 – LBW
Liam F – 8 – Caught
Steve-o - 1 - Bowled
Cheese – 14 – Caught
Jack – 45 – Caught
Rob O – 22 – Bowled
Rhys - 8 - Caught
Sanay – 0 – Bowled
Jim – 5 – Caught
Dan – 29*
Goff – 2*
No tea, but there was a well-stocked beer fridge in compensation.
Spoof decided the opening bowlers and wicketkeeper for the
day (or at least the first 10 overs). Dan took the gloves
with unbridled joy and enthusiasm. In line with this joy,
he kept fairly well for someone under duress.
Jim and Rhys opened, with Jim taking the first over. It was
a shaky start, wides and boundaries littered throughout, but
the spell improved, and there was even a caught-and-bowled
in Jim’s second over. Not sure the batsman will recover
from the shame.
Rhys opened from the other end, bowling the opener and restricting
runs. A good start.
First change brought Goff (sorry, Godfrey) and Steve-o. A
stellar spell of 0 for 4 from Goff’s 4 overs kept the
pressure on, while Steve-o chipped in with a wicket thanks
to a great catch from Rob. At 41/3 after 13 overs, momentum
was with the Cazh.
Annoyingly, that’s when a partnership began to build.
Batsmen 4 and 5, both starting slowly on the equally slow
but improving pitch, began to put together something solid.
With Dan and Pat in the attack, the run rate ticked up as
the batsmen got settled. No wickets in their initial spells,
with the odd bad ball punished.
Cheese and Rob came on, both bowling tidy spells, backed up
by good fielding, restricting runs and keeping pressure on.
Skipper Sanay rolled his arm over for a couple of overs,
bowling well, but AV&H were still on track.
A couple of expensive overs dented the Cazh’s hopes.
The partnership was finally broken in the 38th over when Pat
picked up a wicket with another good catch from Rob. With
2 overs to go and 7 required, it was going to be tight. Frustratingly,
AV&H managed to sneak to the required total in the final
over.
A defeat in our opening tour game, but a good, close contest
nonetheless.
Bowling
Jim – 3-0-20-1
Rhys – 5-0-13-1
Goff – 4-3-4-0
Steve-o – 5-0-21-1
Dan – 6-0-35-1
Pat – 6.3-0-41-1
Cheese – 4-0-10-0
Rob – 4-1-15-0
Sanay – 2-0-11-0
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